Crawford's DNA not enough in '93 killing

Dec. 10, 2012

Lucius Crawford

Written by

Learonda Shealy

A DNA match this year linking parolee Lucius Crawford to the 1993 slaying of a prostitute from Yonkers wasn’t enough for Bronx detectives to close the case.

They spent nearly five months working with Yonkers detectives, who suspected Crawford in a second prostitute slaying that year.

They finally made their move Tuesday, prepared to question him in the two cold cases. But it was too late for Tonya Simmons, 41, a New Rochelle woman whose body they discovered in Crawford’s bed at his Mount Vernon apartment.

After he was taken into custody, authorities said Crawford admitted to killing Simmons and two Yonkers women: 23-year-old Learonda Shealy, whose body was found in a stairwell at 57 Walsh Road on Sept. 13, 1993; and Nella West, 38, whose body was dumped on Liebig Avenue in the Bronx on Oct. 20, 1993.

All three women were stabbed multiple times.

New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne on Thursday called the timing of the visit coincidental and said there were reasons police didn’t move immediately on Crawford once both agencies suspected him. He said “DNA is good,” but that more investigative efforts were needed to solidify what was a circumstantial case against Crawford.

“You try to build the strongest case you can have,” Browne said. “Any law enforcement agency obviously would have wanted to have this individual in custody before that other woman was killed.”

The exact timeline of Tuesday’s events has not been provided by law enforcement, but the detectives showed up at Crawford’s apartment — after going to his job but not finding him there — less than two hours after the killing. A neighbor said he saw Simmons enter the building with Crawford about 11 a.m. The detectives and parole officer got there shortly before 1:30 p.m.

Mount Vernon Police Chief John Roland said Thursday that Crawford told investigators he was dating Simmons and that arguments over a cellphone and a shopping cart precipitated her stabbing. Whether the fights occurred long before Simmons’ death or immediately leading up to it was unclear, Roland said.

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Browne said one angle was tracking down a cabdriver who had seen a car in the area where West’s body was dumped. After establishing the DNA match to Crawford, detectives discovered that Crawford had a car registered in his name that matched the witness’ description, Browne said. He said the cabdriver was found living in a shelter and his account was still “lucid,” and therefore helpful in building the case against Crawford.

Yonkers Detective Lt. Patrick McCormack said that before detectives spoke with Crawford on Tuesday night, “we did not have enough to arrest him” in Shealy’s death.

McCormack called Simmons’ slaying “very unfortunate” but bristled at the suggestion detectives were too late in going to Crawford’s apartment. There was no DNA match in the Yonkers case and there were several avenues that the cold case squad was pursuing once it joined forces with the Bronx detectives, McCormack said. He could not specify what made them ready to confront Crawford on Tuesday but not before that.

Crawford, 60, has a history of violence toward women, serving 17 years in prison in South Carolina for stabbing at least seven females in Charleston.

He came to Westchester County after his release in 1991, assaulted a woman in White Plains that year and then three years later viciously stabbed a co-worker who refused to date him. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder in that case and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years, serving more than 13 years before his release in February 2008.

Simmons’ brother, Maurice Simmons, 46, told The Journal News he was devastated by her death, and said he had never met Crawford.

“It’s very emotional to me,” said the brother, who suffers from schizophrenia and is on disability, “to me, my mother, the whole family, everyone who knew her.”

Simmons said he viewed his sister’s body Wednesday. “Her face was good. It looked good,” he said. “But they had a white sheet over her body.”

He described Tanya Simmons as a single mother of a son and daughter, but was not clear about their names or ages. “She raised them to the best of her ability on her own.”

He said his sister supported herself by doing household chores and collecting bottles and cans for deposits.